Two-Ingredient Soy Yogurt in the Instant Pot

You only need two ingredients to make soy yogurt in the Instant Pot. It could not be easier. Join me, as I spill all of my yogurt-making tricks!

When I got my Instant Pot last year, one thing I was sure I’d never use was the yogurt function. We have so many good vegan yogurts on store shelves, why bother making my own? Oh how wrong I was!

You guys, I make soy yogurt on a weekly basis now. It is SO much cheaper than store-bought, and my homemade soy yogurt is free of additives. But my favorite thing about it is that it’s unsweetened.

Store-bought soy yogurts – even most marked “plain” – are all so sweet. I can’t handle it. And I like sweet food!

But when you’re cooking with yogurt, maybe you’re trying to make something savory or maybe you just want to mix in some strawberry jam without turning your breakfast bowl from a little bit sweet to tooth-meltingly sugary.

When you make your own soy yogurt from scratch, it can be truly unsweetened, so you have a lot more control over the sweetness when you’re cooking with it.

My recipe is based on my adventures with the soy yogurt recipe in Vegan Under Pressureby Jill Nussinow. At first, I was hesitant to post my recipe, since in some ways it’s so much like the one in the book.

But after answering tons of questions from friends, family, and readers about how to make yogurt in the Instant Pot, I felt like it might be worthwhile to share what I’d learned.

There are dozens of amazing pressure cooker recipes in Vegan Under Pressure, and I encourage you to grab a copy. I refer to it several times a week for full recipes and for her bean, grain, and veggie cooking times, which are way more accurate than the booklet that came with my Instant Pot.

The recipe below is what I landed on after a lot of tinkering with cooking times and some technique changes that make it less messy.

I’ve also included a variation from my friend Erin at Kitchen Gadget Vegan. She does a soy-coconut mix that her family loves.

Making Soy Yogurt in the Instant Pot: What You Need to Know

The key to making soy yogurt in the Instant Pot is exactly what Nussinow says in her book: you have got to use soy milk that’s only soybeans and water. No gums. No gels. No thickeners. Trust me.

I didn’t believe this at first, and I tried using the gum-thickener-gel-ful soy milk from our fridge, and the yogurt it produced was sticky a nightmare floating in a jar of water.

I don’t throw food away lightly, and I threw this out after just a couple of bites. There was no way to stir the floaty part and watery part together. It was a total lost cause.

The great thing about Westsoy is that it doesn’t need to be refrigerated, because of how it’s packaged.

One 32 ounce box of soy milk makes two pints of soy yogurt in the Instant Pot. The Westsoy that I linked to shakes out to about $4 per box. That’s $2 per pint of homemade, additive free, organic, unsweetened soy yogurt. See? Worth it!

I’ve seen cooking times for Instant Pot yogurt that vary anywhere from 8 hours to 18. That’s a big range, and it took me a lot of batches to hone in on the ideal time.

Fourteen hours seems to be the magic time for making soy yogurt in the Instant Pot. You can go as low as 10 hours, but for that perfectly tangy soy yogurt that’s thick enough to eat with a spoon, 14 is ideal.

14 Hours is Forever

There’s nothing instant about making soy yogurt in the Instant Pot.

Making that 14 hour cooking time work for you is all about planning. Don’t make the mistake I did a few times, starting your batch of yogurt in the morning.

If you do that, your Instant Pot will be tied up all day. It won’t be there for you when you want to make rice and steam broccoli for your supper.

Instead, start your yogurt in the evening, so it will be ready for the morning. If you normally get up and have breakfast at 7am, start that yogurt at 5pm. Fourteen hours later, it’s ready for breakfast, like magic!

There’s nothing like starting the day with a bowl of fresh yogurt that you made yourself. And since most of the cooking happens while you’re asleep, it makes the 14 hours seem a little bit more instant.

Eating Homemade Soy Yogurt

Homemade soy yogurt with no added thickeners is not going to be as thick as the soy yogurts that you’re used to eating. That’s just science. You have three options:

Add a thickener. I do not like working with thickeners, so if that’s what you want to do, I’d suggest looking at the Vegan Under Pressure recipe. Jill has directions there, if you want to go that route.

Strain it. You can strain the yogurt through a few layers of cheesecloth to get rid of some excess whey and make a thicker yogurt. This takes longer, and you end up with a little more than half of what you started with, so I don’t do it. But you can!

Embrace it. This yogurt isn’t Greek yogurt, but it is freaking delicious. You can eat it with a spoon or treat it like a thick yogurt drink.

My favorite way to eat it is with strawberry jam mixed in. Darrol Henry prefers his with maple syrup. It’s also great in any recipe that calls for yogurt. Or as a replacement for sour cream.

How to Make Yogurt in the Instant Pot

You can also use a mix of coconut cream and soy yogurt. Erin Glasser-Devore from Kitchen Gadget Vegan perfected this variation on the recipe below. She divides a 5.5 oz can of coconut cream between the two jars, then adds the yogurt, then tops off with soy milk. Stir well, and cook for 14 hours.

Ingredients

1 32ouncebox soy milkChoose a brand that’s ONLY soybeans and water – see above.

2tablespoonsplain vegan yogurt of your choiceDon’t worry – the small amount of gums in this won’t mess with the final yogurt’s texture!

Method

Divide the soy milk between two wide mouth pint jars. Add a tablespoon of yogurt into each jar, stirring well.

Carefully place the jars into the bottom of your Instant Pot (not on the rack – for some reason, it won’t make yogurt if you do that). Lock the lid, make sure the vent is sealed, and press the Yogurt button. Set it for 14 hours.

In the morning, you’ll have yogurt! Stir before serving, since it does tend to separate. Your soy yogurt will keep for about 5 days in the fridge.

Notes

Making that 14 hour cooking time work for you is all about planning. Don’t make the mistake I did a few times, starting your batch of yogurt in the morning. If you do that, your Instant Pot will be tied up all day. It won’t be there for you when you want to make rice and steam broccoli for your supper. Instead, start your yogurt in the evening, so it will be ready for the morning.

Reader Interactions

Comments

Thanks so much for this recipe! It’s so wonderful to get info that is devoid of plugs, underlying profit motives, and consumerism. I’ve been making soy yogurt for some time, since about the time I read your blog!

Before I found your recipe, I’d read countless articles and blogs about the bad soybean, special ingredients necessary to make soy yogurt, and health warnings.

It’s wonderful! It’s simple! It’s real food! And it makes a whole bunch for a half cup of organic, non-gmo soybeans and less than half a teaspoon of probiotic powder.

I’ve made the Greek yogurt style several times, too, but gave up on it in favor of the delicious liquidy yogurt!

Your post is one of the many that have helped me break free of the consumer mentality toward food and health and get my life back on the road and running well. Thanks!

Hey Becky. I can’t believe how easy this sounds. I do like a thicker yogurt texture. What would you think adding a bit of chia would do to the processing?
Thanks for doing all the groundwork for us all ?

Thank you so much for this great recipe! I have been searching for a dairy free recipe that was easy to make. It turned out absolutely perfect just as you said. I love the taste and the texture. Thank you so much for sharing.

So I made this today and it looks like it turned out perfect. However it was done around 9:30 *14 hrs after I set it* but I didn’t get home until 1pm. I thought for some reason my IP would stay on but it didn’t. Is it bad now? Or will it be safe to eat? I have a toddler and I’m about 11 weeks pregnant so I want to be safe!

Hi Becky. I alway thought I just have to use the West Soy Organic unsweetened soy milk to make the yogurt in my yogurt maker but yesterday I used the organic unsweetened vanilla soymilk and both my husband and I said it was the best ever. It just has natural vanilla flavor and others natural flavors (not sure what they are)
Linda

It was the West Soy brand that I bought by mistake from Wegmans. Didn’t even realize I used it until we tasted it. I thought it tasted a little vanilla but when my husband commented it tasted a little maple, I checked the recycle bin and sure enough it was the West Soy unsweetened vanilla soy milk

This is wonderful and I’m so excited to make some vegan yogurt for my daughter who has a severe casein/dairy allergy! I’m just confused because I’ve seen so many people who say that the probiotics need sugar to feed on in order for the process to work (this would be the lactose in dairy) and unsweetened soy milk would need to have sugar (honey, maple syrup or whatever) added in order to work. I guess I can try it first without it, but I’m just baffled because that information seems reasonable, but then this recipe seems to work for lots of folks, so….? Strange! Anyway- will try both ways and see! Thank you!

Nice connection you’re making, Dee. Remember that sugars occur in various forms. I use Westsoy organic plain (nothing but water and soybeans). A 1-cup serving contains 4 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams of which are sugars. It’s there. No need to add.

I am not yogurt lover. I made this first batch from your recipe since my three kids and husband love yogurt on their fruit in the morning. I wanted to report that it is fantastic. Thank you so much for putting this recipe together. I am now using it on my fruit as well!!

I have used my yogurt as the starter just once as I often don’t want the next batch until the first is done. You use 2 tablespoons per quart. Some people freeze the yogurt to use as starter.
They say that you cannot use the previous batch of yogurt but it seems to work but sometimes it loses strength.
Best idea is to freeze 2 tablespoons in ice cube trays and defrost and use.

My first try at this and I just checked it (at 9 hours) almost completely liquid still. I hope these last few hours are going to do the trick. I used Westsoy and two tablespoons of So Delicious plain coconut milk yogurt. Going to look for some starter. Maybe I could use Culturelle? Thoughts on how much in each pint jar?

Jacqueline,, my best results have been with Westsoy Plain organic (nothing but soy) and a capsule/powdered probiotic. I’ve tried from 12 to 18 hours in the IP. The longer the time, the more tangy the yogurt. Please continue to share your results!

That’s interesting! I usually do 12-14, but it should have thickened up some at 9. The final yogurt is still on the runny side, but it’s definitely noticeably thicker than the soymilk. Did you by any chance use the little metal tray that comes with the IP? It will not work if you elevate the jars from the bottom of the canister.

Update:
Some 15+ hours later I had pretty thin, but set yogurt. I strained and it’s creamy and delicious. (Froze the “whey” for smoothie, assuming there’s some nutrition in it?) BUT….all that time albeit hands off mostly for essentially one pint of yogurt.

Trying second experiment with one pint of Westsoy + 1 Culturelle capsule. – it is setting but thin, too. I think I’ll have to strain as well.

Yeah, it’s definitely thinner than storebought. Your other option is to add a thickener. I don’t use thickenrs, but if you go through the comments on this post, some folks who do talk about how to use them to make thicker yogurt.

Hello: What thickener would you use? I’m still waiting on my IP (back ordered) and we found out 2 weeks ago my daughter is allergic to milk, so I’m hoping to make this when I get my IP (DUO 8Q). I hope it’s not too big).

Yeah, mine is always thin too. Some people like it like that but I always strain mine and end up with 3 cups yogurt when all is said and done. I actually have a YouTube video that will be released this coming week showing the entire process.

Keep us posted! I have a Pinterest Board “My InstaPot Adventure” I’m pinning this there and other finds and recipes.

I strained them and wound up losing about 50% to liquid BUT the Westsoy cultured with So Delicious was fab after straining. The Westsoy cultured with Culturelle – flavor was not as nice. Used it up in a curry.

I’m making another batch tonight with Westsoy (my new favorite soy milk, btw) and a lovely new to me nondairy yogurt: “CoYo” free from carageenan, non gmo, vegan, soy, dairy, and gluten free, no added sugar..it’s tasty and thick. High hopes for batch #2.

Thanks for all the advice and responses. Even though it’s a good chunk of time, it’s mostly hands off and the results are so much better than the commercial ones. Though this CoYo is pretty bangin’.

Keep us posted! I have a Pinterest Board “My InstaPot Adventure” I’m pinning this there and other finds and recipes.

I strained them and wound up losing about 50% to liquid BUT the Westsoy cultured with So Delicious was fab after straining. The Westsoy cultured with Culturelle – flavor was not as nice. Used it up in a curry.

I’m making another batch tonight with Westsoy (my new favorite soy milk, btw) and a lovely new to me nondairy yogurt: “CoYo” free from carageenan, non gmo, vegan, soy, dairy, and gluten free, no added sugar..it’s tasty and thick. High hopes for batch #2.

Thanks for all the advice and responses. Even though it’s a good chunk of time, it’s mostly hands off and the results are so much better than the commercial ones. Though this CoYo is pretty bangin’.

Thanks for the tips! I make my own soy milk with organic non-gmo beans. Half cup of soy beans makes over a liter of soy milk in about 15 minutes. I’ve been making my soy yogurt with it in a small yogurt maker. I can make it thin like your recipe and often I make a thick batch using some agar agar. When it’s done, I filter out the whey with cloth. Then I get the thick yummy Greek yogurt style, great for desserts… a few berries on top and WOW!

Will the agar agar clog up the yogurt like those over-the-counter soy milks, with added thickeners do? I didn’t see anyone commenting on home made soy milk, so I figure I’ll try a batch and see… just got my instant pot today! Any feedback would be appreciated!

Ooh that’s a good question. I’m not sure how it would work out adding the agar when it goes into the IP, since I don’t use it. Your homemade soymilk should work just like the boxed one I buy, since they’re the same – just water and soybeans. Definitely report back on what you try and how it goes – I love how the comments on this recipe are becoming a great resource!

I’m wondering if this would work in a slow cooker set on warm too. It came out amazing in my instant pot, but I really hate tying up my instant pot (even overnight) when it could be doing so much more!

I like to make my yogurt at night when i am not usually cooking which works very well. Nothing like waking up and finding that you have yogurt. I put it on at 8 or 9 at night for 12 hours and it works great.

I’m used to making dairy yogurt in my smart pot, I’m curious about if the boil step is OK to skip with the soy yogurt?
I’ve noticed too,at least with dairy yogurt making, that sanitizing the smart pot’s stainless pot with a cup of water, and 1 min on the manual mode (vent closed) seems to give a good clean slate for the cultures to develop.

Hi…I’d like to try this but have some questions about the starter. I hesitate to spend so much on a box of probiotic capsules especially since I understand that they don’t last indefinitely. But, aside from that, I can’t seem to find plain vegan yogurt without. The closest I can find at Whole Foods, is Kite Hills soy yogurt with flavoring like strawberry and also vanilla almond or coconut yogurt. Is it okay to use any of these with the West Soy soymilk?

Hey! Yeah, you can use flavored, but your finished product may have some mild notes of the flavor. I used Kite Hill Peach once in a pinch. It worked, but my yogurt was vaguely peachy tasting. Fine for some uses, though! Plain vegan yogurt works best, but in a pinch you can use flavors.

Thanks for your insights and ND yogurt recipe. We just got an IP and want to make ND yogurt in it. My question: Do you have any experience/knowledge regarding use of a probiotic (capsule or powder) as yogurt starter rather than a small amount of existing ND yogurt? Could I use such a probiotic with the recipe posted here? Thanks for your reply and for all your recipes!

The Probiotic works great, and its super easy. i use capsule kind. I use this
Solgar Advanced 40 Plus Acidophilus Vegetable Capsules, 120 Count you can find it on Amazon for about $14 and I use 7 capsules for 64 ounces of the West Soy Milk recommended above. Good luck!

Thanks Annette. I’m experimenting with HOW MUCH probiotic to use as well as HOW LONG to cook in the IP. I use 64 oz Westsoy Organic (nothin’ but soy) and powder from capsules of Amazing Flora Probiotic 30 Billion (veggie capsules). I’ve used 2 or 3 capsules with 64 oz soy milk. I’ve tried 14 hours and 15 hours cook time. Question: Any suggestions for how to alter these amounts so I get a THICKER as well as TANGIER yogurt? I cook this size batch in 8 narrow glass jars, lids on, in an 8-qrt IP. Thanks for any ideas, suggestions, criticisms!

Oh weird! That last jar you describe is exactly how mine turned out when I tried using milks with gums. I am not sure, but I’d love to know what caused that in your batch. And you’re so welcome – I’m loving your feedback!

I use 1, 50 billion probiotic capsule in 32 oz of Westsoy soy milk. Shake well, pour into 5 glass jars and place in the instant pot. No lids on until after processing and jars have cooled on the counter. I process for anywhere between 10 and 12 hours, depending on my activities in the morning. I make a batch every 5 days and it always comes out thick enough, though I will sometimes strain it through a coffee filter rubber-banded onto a tall glass if I need it thicker. I don’t notice a difference in tanginess with longer processing but it is tangy enough for me. It’s the best tasting soy yogurt I have found.

Hi! I have a couple of quick questions before embarking on my own :) Can I make more than just the two pints at a time? I still have a ton of space left over in the IP and was wondering if I could double or triple this recipe and do 4 or 6 jars in the IP at the same time. Also, my 6 year old probably won’t eat it unsweetened. What would you suggest regarding what type of sweetener to use and when to add it? Thanks so much!

Oh sure! If you can fit more jars, you can make more. I can only fit 2 jars into mine. My kid doesn’t like it unsweetened either. We stir in maple syrup or jam for him just before serving, but whatever you like would work: sugar, brown sugar, agave, etc are all good!

I just put it in the IP! My jars were super full so I separated into 3 pint sized jars, added vanilla bean, and raw cane sugar. I also read through the comments and put it for 11 hours to make it less tart. I hope it turns out!! Just to clarify, I am not supposed to add water to the IP correct? Thanks so much for your help!

I just made the yogurt and it came good. I did it for 11 hours and a good consistency. It is tart so even less time might be less tart. I have not tasted it cold yet. This is the first time I made a non-dairy yogurt that I did not have to throw out. Before, I was using a yogurt maker, but it always worked with regular skim milk. Now that I stopped using dairy I finally found a recipe that works. I used the Instant pot, but I am going to try the recipe with my yogurt maker. I think the difference for me was the brand soymilk. I used what you suggested.

I’m so glad it worked for you! A little sugar will cut the tart as well, if you’re cool with adding sugar. I’m glad to know that 11 hours works out okay. Sometimes 14 hours doesn’t time out well for my routine!

Becky,
I made the yogurt again in 9 hours. Much less tart but next time I’m going to do about 9-1/2 hours. I always like yogurt because it has calcium. Now, I realized the soymilk West Soy has no calcium. I guess all the commercial non dairy yogurts have added calcium. By the way, I did buy the book Vegan Under Pressure and can’t wait to try some of the recipes. Thanks for the recommendation.
Linda.

Oh interesting! I hadn’t thought about the calcium angle. I guess I count on leafy greens and the fortified soy milk in my coffee for that. Enjoy the book! It’s one of the few that I keep in the kitchen, rather than the bookshelf, because I turn to it so often.

Can you use other non dairy milks? My son likes almond milk but I do think know if you can get pure almond mild without all the stuff you mentioned. I just got my instant pot today so I am very new to this.

I have tried with almond milk that includes gums and it didn’t go well, but JL Fields says she did have success with store-bought almond milk. I haven’t done a ton of experimenting, though, because my family loves this soy yogurt so much. If you don’t mind experimenting (and possibly having to dump the results), it’s worth a try! I’d love to hear any success/fail stories you have, if you give it a go!

I make soy yogurt all the time in quart sized Mason jars using Costco’s Kirkland Plain Organic Soymilk that comes 12 to a carton for $14. It works great and is nice and thick. And because the soymilk has calcium and vitamin D added, so does the yogurt.

I usually set it for 12 hours but sometimes pull it out at 8. The longer you leave it, the more tart it is. Younger yogurt has more active bacteria, so it makes a better starter.

Yep! I used a whole quart and mixed it with two heaping spoonfuls of Forager Vanilla Yogurt. It had a faint vanilla smell, but no vanilla flavor. It came out perfect and thick! Thicker than this picture used in this recipe. I may try a different milk though, I’m not a huge fan of soy yogurt. I have heard other good results from people using Kirkland brand.

I don’t have an instant pot yet, but this is such a great idea, Becky!! I think I really need to get one soon. I already got a couple of other recipes I wanna try and I’d absolutely love to make this soy yogurt! :-)

With regard to using old yoghurt to start a new batch (regardless of whether the old one is commercially-produced or your own), the reason results are inconsistent is that yoghurt goes through stages of different strains of bacteria predominating. So the bacteria in the final product are not the strains you want to be dominant at the start of the process.

Lactic acid bacteria are common in the air though, so I start mine by leaving it exposed for a while before incubating.

May be a silly question…. I Just made the yogurt but used a vegan yogurt starter (because I had one). From now on can I just use the two tablespoons of yogurt from the previous batch I just made or do I need to purchase plain yogurt at the store?

I made mine directly in the pot without jars and then placed in a strainer. Looks pretty good right now.

Awesome! I’ve never tried making in the pot – that’s good to know! My quart jar is too tall the pot, so sometimes I put off making yogurt until my pints are clean. Now, I don’t have to! And yes! You can use this batch as the starter for the next.

Deanna,
Sometimes using the yogurt that you just made will work as a starer and sometimes it is less than effective. I have heard about people freezing a few tablespoons right away to use later but I have not tired that.
Yogurt takes on a life of it’s own. You can try using some from the batch that you made and see what happens. It’s always interesting.

Mel, you’ll love it! And the Instant Pot Duo is a slow cooker, too, so you can sell or donate your slow cooker to save some kitchen space. We got rid of our slow cooker and rice cooker when we got the IP!

This is so good to know! I am trying to eat more probiotic food and want to try making my own yoghurt (I used to make it ages ago but used probiotic powder and other expensive ingredients…) this looks much more straight forward :-)

Thank you so much for mentioning me and my book Vegan Under Pressure. The more we can get people to take control of their food the better.
Great post.
I make my yogurt in jars only because I find it less messy that way. as you likely know, I am an efficient (i.e. “lazy”) cook which is why I use the Instant Pot and other pressure cookers.

You are so welcome. I’m a huge fan of your books! We have a small stack of favorite cookbooks that live in the kitchen, and Vegan Under Pressure is on top! Some weeks, I use it every day. Your cooking times/amounts for grains and veggies are so much better than in the IP manual, and your recipes are fantastic!

LOVE this! I have yet to use the yogurt function too and I always thought it would be so intimidating. But, clearly, it’s super easy. WestSoy is the ONLY soy milk I buy and I’ve got about 4 boxes at anyone time in my pantry. LOL! I don’t like to run out of stuff. :) I am SO trying this! Question – what would happen if I used 2 tbsp of flavored yogurt? Does it have to be plain?

And I need to get Jill’s book. It’s been on my wish list forever and I’m not sure what I’m waiting for. I have to take off at least 5 minutes for grains, beans, etc, that the Instant Pot booklet calls for and it’s annoying.

That’s a good question! Sometimes the flavor gets diluted so you don’t taste it. I did one batch with kite hill peach as my starter, and the resulting pints did taste vaguely peachy. It was still good, but definitely not plain yogurt! Definitely get Jill’s book! It’s so good. I use it all the time!

I use 7 capsules I put in the westsoy organic yogurt and cook for 12 hours. My Isa prefer the flavor. I did 13 hours and it was tangier and a little thicker. They are used to the gunner as I used to buy the silk version. At the store. I’m still trying to figure out how ringer the vanilla taste correct. Hope this helps. (I use 5pint size ball Mason jars in my 8qt IP and cook on the yogurt setting)

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